Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-04-01
A BOY BUTCHER.
How Willie Sell Slaughtered Nam
ma, Papa, Brother and Sister.
From tie Inter- OCEAN.


ST. LOUIS, March OFT will be recol.
lected that year ago this month one OF
The bloodIest murders. or rather butch
aries of human beings, known 10 the an
nails of crime, was committed near the
fown OF Erie, Kan. j. w. Sell, a well-to-
40 farmer, and his whole family, except
iug one son, Willie, boy 10 years old,
we're found murdered, their heads being
crushed and their thrOats cut from ear 10
ear. ON a chair in the room were found
a Ratchet and butcher knife belong ing to
tho family with which the bloody work
mad been done, and the boy Willie was
royered with blood from head to foot
He was accordingly arrested, charged
with the crime. and at the July term of
,be Circuit Court, in 1885, was tried, con-
victed OF murder in the fret degree and
senterced to be hanged, and in conformity
with the laws of that state is now in the
penilentiary awaiting the signature of
tbe Governor to the death warrant.
There has always been great diversity
~ opinion among the people as to whether
Willie Sell committed the murder. On
the trial there was no positive evidence,
and the State utterly tailed to find any
motive for the crime. On the contrary,
it was proven that Willie was an ex-
ceptionally good boy. and that he and his
Of each other. The nelghbors all swore
to the boys good disposition, and that be
was faYorite in the community, while
his brother Waty, who was older than ne,
was not SO generally liked.
The matter now, however, is TO be set
Al rest, for statement is printed this
morning in dispatches from Erie that the
BOY, after systematic urging and perse-
vering of the Hon. j. Il. Woodruff, his
guardian, and his attorneys, made con-
Iession which fits so exactly to the facts
and circumstances brought out at the
trial that it settles the case definitely.
The confession is in substance as follows:
Mother and sister Ina had gone to bed.
Father, Waty, and / were still up when
calves got out and came around the house.
Waty sat at the table reading, and father
had Just taken his coat and pants off to 70
TO bed, and told Waty to go and put the
calves up. He said: LET Willie do 1t:
won't 90 out now Father SAID that ne
should 60, and Waty did not want to, and
while they were talking l went out and
got the hatcher, which was sticking In
log of wood outside the door, and came
back to see il Waty would 20 out with me.
| got the Ratchet to nail up the calf
pen. Father and Waty were there quar-
reling, and had become very mad.
When came In with the
Ratchet Waty snatched IL out OF my hand
and struck father several times, at last
knocking him down. When L saw what
Waty had done L caught hold OF the
ratchet and jerked it out of his hands, 4
and, striking at Waty, hit him on the
head, and he fell down on the floor, and \
suppose that killed him. Then mother. 4
seeing what was being done, jumped out
of bed screaming, and before l thought
what l was doing / struck her. Ina, my
sister, at that raised up in bed and
screamed, and / don't know why did it,
but l struck her with the Ratchet,
and she fell back. They were all lying
quiet.
Il took off all my clothes except my
shirt and drawers, then pulled off Waty's
pants, raised him up and carried him into
the other room and put him into our bed
After that went back and got the hatch
BIT and pounded his head all to pieces. 81
ielt mad at Waty because he had killed
father. l went TO the cupboard and got
Inc butcher knife and cut Waty's head
nearly of, Then l went back into the
other room and sat down, and | did not
Know what to do. Then | thought il any
Of them should come to life they would
say Killed Waty, SO L took the butcher
knife and cut all their throats to make
sure OF 1t. l then blew out the lamp and
SAT down for several hours, but at last
could not stand it any longer and again
III the lamp, and, putting on my clothes,
ran over TO MIR. MendePs and told HIM
that some one was at our house with a
uStchet and had hurt pa and ma"